WILLIAM said he hoped the media would treat him at St Andrews with the same restraint as when he attended Eton.

WILLIAM said he hoped the media would treat him at St Andrews with the same restraint as when he attended Eton.

"Hopefully, they have got enough from what I've been doing this weekend," he said.

"The way the media treated me in my gap year was great and if that could continue, everyone would be happy, especially me," he said.

"If it does get too intrusive, I will feel really uncomfortable.

"It would take a lot to really irritate me, but if other people are getting fed up with the fact that I'm causing them to be hassled and are stopping talking to me, I'll have to think about it all again."

In the past, William has told friends he will quit St Andrews if he and his fellow students find themselves under too much scrutiny.

But he fell short of declaring such a dramatic step when asked what he would do if the pressure got too much.

"We'd have to do some more talking. Maybe there would be something I could do differently to ease it. I just hope it doesn't get that far," he said.

It remains to be seen how much attention the prince receives and how he will deal with it. But when William waves goodbye to his father this evening, he will know if nothing else that he is about to have another adventure - and he intends to enjoy it.